The Perception of Not-for-Proft Organisations on Risks in Partnership with Czech, Sicilian and Castilian-Leonese Schools

Abstract

Non-proft sector and schools have different trajectories in the sphere of education and yet they both direct to the same goal – well-being of their target groups. What would happen if they joined their interests and transformed it into some kind of cooperation? Is it already happening and if so, how? This chapter focuses on the everyday reality of partnership between non-proft non-governmental organizations and schools, particularly in the area of inclusion of foreign language (FL) students in three European geographical areas – the Czech Republic, Castilla y León Autonomous Community of Spain, and Sicily in Italy. The three-year project aimed to map the extent of such cooperation and allowed us to identify moments that non-profts perceive as critical and that pose threats to a relationship. Our fndings were gained through text coding of openended questions in a questionnaire and were categorized followingly: (1) barriers in exchanging opinions and sharing good practices (2) the visibility of partnership in teacher training (3) funding challenges (4) support from administration authorities. We believe that a constructive input or feedback from our partner can provide us with meaningful guidance to change our thinking and/or improve our current practice. Therefore, our fndings can serve as an internal audit for possible readjustment of the structure, processes or ethos of educational environments for all interested parties.